On This Day in Napoleonic History – 22 December 1793

Napoleon is promoted to Brigadier-General

Following his victory at Toulon, Napoleon was appointed Brigadier-General and the inspector of defenses. His conduct at the Siege of Toulon demonstrated that he could be trusted with command and brought him to the attention of senior politicians, such as Paul Barras and Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron.

Despite having been on leave for most of his service, with and without permission, Napoleon became a general at 24 after less than 4 years of active duty. He had spent 5 and a half years as a Second Lieutenant, a year as a Lieutenant, 16 months as a captain, 3 months as a major and no time at all as a colonel. His rise through the ranks, impressive though it was, wasn’t unprecedented in post-Revolutionary France that was severely depleted by immigration and mass executions.